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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — a video
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. ground — a position
  6. spell — magic
  7. net — for catching
  8. cap — a lid
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lean — thin
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. clip — to cut
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cap — a hat
  18. ground — crushed
  19. lean — to bend
  20. ground — the earth
  21. net — after costs
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cap — of ice
  24. wave — with your hand

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com